Stardust
by Psychedelic Dust Bunny
Summary: Galen Erso has many regrets. Getting involved with the Empire was, perhaps, the biggest, but the thoughts of his beloved Stardust motivate him to carry on and survive. A series of one-shots following Galen Erso and his involvement with the Empire.
1. Prison

**AN: Well, I've risen from the grave after years of hiatus (Sorry! Life was really busy). I've decided to attempt writing again, and will hopefully remember where I was going with my other stories. I would hate to completely abandon them. I'm rusty on Star Wars, but I saw Rogue one and was inspired to attempt to write again.**

 **This will probably be a series of one-shots snippets revolving around Galen Erso. Thank you for reading.**

Galen feels a lot of things these days. He has nothing, but time to think and feel, to regret and hate. There is just so many things to ponder upon. Memories he wishes he could forget, to change. He regrets leaving Jyn, his treasured daughter. He hates having to leave his beloved wife without a proper funeral. He resents Krennic for forcing him to come back to the Empire. But, most of all, he despises himself. Despises himself for getting involved with Krennic in the first place; for forcing his family out into a life of solitude afterwards. For everything.

It is from behind the bars of his cell, lying prone and broken on the ground, that he realizes the depth of all his past mistakes. Of everything that he wishes he could do differently. During these times of quiet, he cannot stop the torrent of emotions flooding him. However, this time between the Empire's attempts to _persuade_ him into their service, also allows him time to think about his predicament. It allows him to look at it from all angles with a cold rationality. Of how he could attempt an escape (and, hopefully, attain a quick death for escape was virtually impossible). That would, at least, allow him to die knowing he at least delayed the Empire just a bit longer in building the planet destroyer. It would not permanently halt them for, eventually, they would realise he was not essential. They could find another scientist just as brilliant and gifted as himself given enough time. That, Galen knew, could not be allowed to happen and it was this thought that forces him to conclude each day that he has no choice but to comply with the Empire. Dying in the dark, alone, would solve nothing. Would help no one, least of all, his Stardust. He would have to _comply_ with Krennic, the Empire, _Darth Vader_ if he was to survive and, hopefully, ruin the sinister plans of the fallen jedi.

Yet, despite his inevitable conclusions, he would resist for another day, taking the torture in defiance. A part of him did not want to deal with the guilt of helping build a weapon so powerful. Of having his daughter look at him with the inevitable hatred that such an awful legacy would incur. He wants nothing more than to see her again, but not even the Empire has been able to find her, if the intensity of his torture is anything to go by. Without Jyn, the Empire has no leverage against him. Nothing to bargain with him for. They know, as does he, that he will not resist if they have his Stardust. She is his world; the light at the end of the very dark road that he has paved for himself. She is the last piece of himself and his Lyra that remains, and he does not want her innocence to be sullied by the Empire. As much as he yearns to see her smile again, he knows that he never will. She will never look at him the same way again. Even if, by some small chance, he sees her, she will know of his past involvement with the Empire and how his scientific breakthroughs helped them dominate the galaxy.

And, so, he takes another day of torture, and another, and another until all the days blur together and he can no longer tell day from night, reality from unreality. Until, one day, he does not. Until one moment where he hardens his heart, ignores the lingering image of his daughter in the back of his mind, and turns to look at Krennic and accepts. Accepts with everything he has.

A lone tear escapes Galen's eye, as he agrees, with a heavy heart, what he will do from now on. Of how low he will sink in his daughter's eyes. There is just no other way to survive, to help her and the world.

 _I'm sorry, Stardust… please forgive me…_

Krennic, looking as pristine as ever in his white uniform, merely smiles cruelly at him and drags him out of his cell by his collar, mentioning how he knew his friend would come around eventually.

And so, Galen resigns himself to his fate.


	2. Plans

More often than not, he dreams of his Stardust. Dreams of her running gaily across fields of green. Of her eyes lighting up at each and every new discovery of hers. He enjoys dreaming of these simpler times. The dreams allow him to remember his dusty farmhouse, his wife's small smiles, or Jyn's room filling laughter. They allow him to remember all the tiny details in his mind's eye. Details that are slowly fading with time. He can no longer remember what his wife's favourite scent was or the feel of Jyn's tiny hand in his own. It has been too long.

Sometimes, he imagines that his daughter had come here to the Empire with him, unaware that, somewhere across the galaxy, his daughter dreams of the same thing. Often, they both dream of him twirling her in his arms and showing her off like any proud parent. That she would have remained innocent of the evil behind it all. But, alas, that would never be. His beautiful and colourful imaginings would remain just that, figments of dreams.

He would always wake up slowly, struggling to remain in his dreams. It was hard to go from the vibrancy of his mind to stare at the cold walls of his new residency; to have the images so recently enjoyed fading rapidly. Sometimes, during these wee hours of the morning, he finds he has no will to get out of his bed, to continue on with his plans. Jyn is all that motivates him to continue on. He likes to think that his daughter is still alive, growing into a beautiful woman, even if he is not there to be her father. He hopes that, maybe, just maybe, she understands his actions and does not despise him for them.

After all, he is, perhaps, the only one who can stop project Stardust. He has ingratiated himself to the other engineers, building up the trust lost when he originally defected from the Empire. Now, no soldiers follow him around like lost puppies. No higher ups peer over his shoulder to make sure he does nothing traitorous. He is free to carry on integrating his plans into the Death Star designs. A flaw so subtle that no one would detect it. No one would surmise its ultimate purpose.

His stiff grey uniform is all too familiar to him these days. It's all he has worn for several years. Until recently, he was not allowed outside of the base, so he had no use for other clothing. He hardly needs to concentrate as he deftly undoes all the latches and zippers to pull the garment on, glad that it hides all evidence of his torture. He does not want to be reminded of the pain; both physical and mental. The scars remind him of his betrayal to all the things he holds dear.

The image that stares back at him in the mirror feels foreign, but all so familiar to him at the same time. He looks tired. A few more lines in his face than before. His hair is a little greyer. The image before him shows that he looks and feels years older than he should. A part of him wonders how much more stress he can take before he just folds under the pressure to keep up appearances. Another part of him considers, half-heartedly, about giving in completely to the Empire. For who can win against such a powerful foe? Guilt fills him for a moment before he squashes it down ruthlessly. There is a time and a place for self-pity. Now is not the time. There is always a way to defeat tyranny. As long as there is hope, there will always be a chance. Galen was determined to help create such a chance.

Schooling his face into a blank mask and giving one last glance around his barren room, he steps out into the corridor, heading towards the engineering labs. There is someone he needs to find. Breakfast can wait. Today is the day he proposes his first draft of the final stages of his design. The inner workings of the weapon will be laid out before Krennic and his higher ups, along with his contributions to the outer defence of the ship. With any luck, his exhaust intake would pass muster without a hitch. Then it would be just a matter of implementing the design. He would figure out how to get it to the rebels later. He had time. Years, possibly, to work that all out.

The other engineers were less inclined to agree with his plans, but he had already risen above them in rank and esteem. There reservations would mean little against his own opinion. After all, he was considered the sole reason that the project had not stagnated and fallen apart. He has always been exceptional in detecting flaws and coming up with new and innovative ways of working around or fixing them. The Empire would have a hard time replacing him now. He has put tremendous effort in ensuring he would be irreplaceable. What better way to ensure his survival? To ensure he would not be replaced at the first chance? These possibilities had to have been squashed before attempting his current stunt. It would not have gone well if he had been replaced part way through.

Quickly side-stepping out of the way of some Storm Troopers on patrol, he finds his target heading in the same direction as him, potentially going to his labs to retrieve him early for the meeting. The man notices him before long and turns towards him.

"Galen! Are your plans finished?"

Galen stops just before Director Krennic and remarks that, yes, it is ready. They just needed to be perused by Krennic.

Krennic has to review all of his workbefore he can attend any meeting.

Krennic's eyes light up at the possibility of being the first non-engineer to see the designs and Galen finds himself reminiscing on how the two of them used to be close friends. It was such a pity that it was not to be as their ideologies were vastly different from each other. He would never be able to condone and look the other way to Krennic's actions. Never be able to forgive him for murdering his wife and forcing his child to be without parents. But, for the sake of the world, he forces a friendly smile and keeps up the appearance of friendship. Without Krennic's support, Galen will get nowhere.

He places a hand on the other man's shoulder, and indicates with a wave of his other hand the direction his plans were held,

"Come, Director, I will show you."

After moment of silence as he leads the way, he hears the Director's footsteps behind him. _Today… today is the day it all begins. The day I start to bring the downfall of the Empire._

He forces himself not to smile, but Krennic must have picked up on some small sign for he throws a narrowed eyed glance his way, suspicions already arising. Krennic is not and will never be the most trusting of men. Galen knows this very well because, despite his support, he has made sure he gets to review all of Galen's work before it gets sent up. He has not forgotten Galen's betrayal. Hell, Krennic searched the galaxy to force him back into service. All sense of mercy and familial bonds having been destroyed when Galen fled the Empire, leaving behind an overwhelming desire to dominate and control. Lyra was evidence of that. Only after all this time, had Krennic allowed a more friendly interaction between the two of them. Perhaps, chancing a little trust and trying to ignite an old forgotten friendship.

Even still, Galen decides to be even more wary and careful of the Director. Perhaps he has gotten too lax with him, despite his feelings towards the man. It is hard to completely let go of past bonds after all.

The door to his office slides open without noise, and, without preamble, he rifles through his desk, looking for his pad with the designs. Before long, he finds it and hands it to Krennic.

"I hope this meets your expectations. I tried to take into account your suggestions, but not all of them were feasible due to the overall structure design."

Krennic nods, too absorbed in reading to be bothered at the admission. Later, he will have a word with him. Galen knows it will not be as private event as he would like. Perhaps it will result upon another restriction placed upon him. A limitation of freedom again? Or something else? Only time would tell.

A few moments of tense silence follow, only interrupted by Krennic's fingers taping on the tablet. Eventually, he looks up and gives his verdict while handing the tablet back.

"You may proceed with this. It is an acceptable proposition for you to bring forward to command. The meeting will be held in two hours in the conference room. I suggest you clean up before presenting yourself."

Without further ado, he turns on his heal and, with a swish of his white cloak, is gone back out the door.

Galen merely tucks his pad under his arm and begins plotting his future plans. Having passed Krennic's critical eye, there was little chance that the command board would halt him in his tracks. It is this thought that makes him decide that his involvement with the Empire would not be for naught. He would be able to help his Stardust after all.

He has just passed another step on his road to hell, but he could not be gladder of it. He would accept his fate with smile when this was all said and done. He will know what he did to aid the Rebels, even if they did not and that was all that mattered. Stardust, he knew, would not believe him to be evil. She would know the truth.

It was time to take the next step.


	3. Pilot

Events like this are long and tedious, Galen decides. All the formality is irksome and tiring. This base holds an all rank cocktail party at least once every couple of months, partially as a means of relaxation and partially as a reminder of just who is in charge here. It is a chance for the higher ups to brag about all the Empire's recent accomplishments to all of their underlings. The ones who had done most of the hard work. Events like these do not always foster loyalty in the lowest of ranks. Yet, they seem to inspire those just a bit higher in the totem pole. So, overall, having these parties were in the Empire's favour despite the expense of them.

Currently, he is standing in a quiet corner by himself, sipping some sort of sweet mix of alcoholic drinks. He does not mind being alone for it is a brief respite from Krennic, who grows more and more suspicious of everyone each day. The other man suspects there is someone working against them, but has not been able to pinpoint whom just yet. His once friend still unnerves Galen, even after all of this time. He has such an iron willed determination to see this project through that he even goes against the Empire to gather all the resources necessary for it. He has been met with such success that the Empire has not punished him for it either. It is this determination that unnerves Galen rather than his past actions against his family. If anybody should discover his plans before he has completed them, it will be Krennic. No one else knows as much about the Deathstar as him and the engineers working on the project. No one inspects each and every detail with as much scrutiny either. However, lately, Galen has noticed the man only glossing over his own submissions. Perhaps, the man has grown to trust him once again. Maybe he believes they are once again close friends with all past actions being just that, in the past. The look of betrayal will be something that Galen will remember for all time. He looks forward to it.

Everything has gone well with project Stardust. He has just one snag left. How to let the Rebels know of the flaw? All communications from this base are tightly monitored. There would be no message passing through the standard methods. He needed something less obvious. Something unexpected.

He roves his eyes over the crowd, noticing an odd soldier here and there looking uncomfortable.

Perhaps an insider? Someone as enthralled with the Empire as he is? Was there such a person nearby? An idea he would have to ponder on later. Using someone here would take time. He would need to weed out who he could trust and who he could not. That would take time and he is not sure he has the time to do this anymore. The Deathstar is getting closer to completion with each and every day that passes. Yet, there are a few candidates that look like they have potential. He spots a low ranking storm trooper a little ways to his left, looking thoroughly fed up with everything. A littler farther into the room, there is an uncomfortable pilot talking animatedly with others. He does not appear to be agreeing with the others comments. Lastly, to his right is an engineer who he knows feels guilty about the whole affair with the Deathstar. Decisions, decisions. Is the engineer to obvious of a choice? The soldier only annoyed at his current situation? The pilot only debating a preference in one thing or another? Time will tell.

"Erso! There you are! I have been looking all over for you. There are some people I would like you to meet."

He smiles genially at Krennic, who has forced himself through the crowd to clasp his shoulder. He resists the instinct to pull away from the vile touch.

"Oh?"

Krennic looks pleased with himself as he animatedly starts informing him of his most loyal subordinates. The ones who had disobeyed orders for him. Pilots and labourers alike. Galen only listens with half an ear as he allows himself to be pulled through the crowd. He is not interested in loyal followers of the Empire. He wants disloyal ones.

Suddenly, he finds himself being presented to the pilot he had spotted earlier. _Well, well, well… isn't this interesting,_ he thinks.

"This is one of the pilots I was mentioning to you. Erso meet Pilot Bodhi Rook. Rook meet Head Engineer Galen Erso. Over here, Galen, is another pilot of mine meet….."

Galen stopped listening, merely inclining his head to each new person introduced to him. He has a name now. A very good start indeed. Krennic had introduced them so he suspicion would absent should he choose to talk to the nervous looking man. Perhaps, he would test the waters with this man first.

With the introductions over with, the group started discussing the procurement of materials. How each mission had gone, whether they had run into any rebels, and how pleased they were to have helped further such a cause as the creation of the ultimate weapon. All of them, but the first pilot enthusiastically exclaimed their love of the Empire at this. Rook just looked uncomfortable as he echoed the others' words. Krennic seemed to overlook this behaviour, perchance mistaking it for not being a people person. For, indeed, he did not seem to be very extroverted. Or, maybe, he was looking the other way because the pilot had furthered his goal on several occasions. Either way, it did not really matter to Galen.

What matters is that he had found his first potential recruit. Testing his loyalties would be painstakingly slow for he could not risk the pilot reporting back to Krennic, but Galen suspected he would not need to find another subject.

Silently, he thanks Krennic for introducing the two of them. After all, this has the potential for being a very fruitful meeting indeed. For the rest of the night, he remains with Krennic's group, adding a line or two when questioned.

When the evening starts to draw to a close and people are toasting project Stardust, Galen does not think of the weapon, but instead of his little girl. He thinks of her as he makes a request of Krennic. He wants to talk to the pilots at another time because he is oh so interested in their exploits. He smiles as Krennic agrees and sets up another meeting without a second thought. Krennic always loves a chance to brag about himself and his subordinates.

This is what he has been waiting for. His way to pass on the message. In his mind's eye, he can see Jyn's approving smile.

Now, he just needs to work out the details of his scheme.


End file.
